Wikipedia is going dark today to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Google and other big Internet companies also oppose the legislation, which would compel service providers to block access to overseas websites that violate U.S. copyright laws. Today’s Question: Where do you stand on the Stop Online Piracy Act?

Its a terrible idea they’ll never fairly enforce because it would cost too much to do so. I’m against any effort to regulate the internet by government. SOPA is ripe with unintended consequences. Its just a high tech tariff.

Hiram

Intellectual property wise, the toothpaste is out of the tube. We should recognize that fact and expend our energies in finding ways to brush our teeth with it, and not on trying and failing to find ways to put it back in the tube.

Hiram

By the way, in terms of putting a public face on a lobbying effort, on this issue having to do with freedom in a young and emerging industry, about which, codgers like me are largely clueless, has there ever been in the history of the world, a worse choice than broken down, discredited ex-senator Chris Dodd. A man only a congressman looking forward post office holding paydays could love?

Jack

Argh Matey!

Emery

The battle over SOPA is a fight between two hugely creative forces. The content companies want to protect a business that is the core of modern culture; the software companies are determined to defend the innovative power of an industry that has transformed the world in the past few decades. Tension between them is inevitable; but a redrafted law could surely deal fairly with both.

Rich

SOPA is the worst piece of legislation to every attack the Internet! There are many ways for creatives to make money, there are even successful models that embrace file sharing and piracy. Vodo, Flattr, and others are showing that a new model is possible and with hundreds of millions of file sharing users out there the Pirate Party stands to gain in elections every time governments attempt to harm the free flow of information around the globe.

It’s nearly 2012 people, we need to all realize that dinosaurs will either adapt or die.

Bear

We have three entities: content developers (IP); content providers; and content pirates. The latter are thieves. Taking any property, real or intellectual, is stealing. Content providers that “knowingly” participate or foment the practice are accessories to the crime. So “their” protests are a duplicitous and self-interested.

Oh yes there is a fourth entity: government, who has an “Ap” (law) for every issue. SOPA, like most control legislation, is flawed and has enormous unintended consequences. Government is not the solution here.

Rather the two core entities, content developers and content providers, should apply their ingenuity and creativity to develop a solution, which protects IP rights and leverages the power of the internet.

Steve

Compared with other countries’ anti-piracy laws, SOPA is indeed draconian. But the real row is about how content should be distributed and paid for.

Neither piracy laws nor newfangled ideas offer creative types a reliable path to prosperity. Services that provide legal music over the internet pay out little in royalties. No law can do much about that.

I avidly share my photography on twitter and my blogs on a daily basis.

To protest the amazingly broad brush that SOPA/PIPA employs, and its potential consequences for me, I am not sharing anything today.

david

This ridiculous legislation just goes to show how easy it is for an industry to buy political favors. I’m not as worried about the censorship issues as I am about how it potentially opens site owners to legal claims that they should not be culpable for. I’m currently developing several user generated content sites and my first order of business was incorporating for the only reason to shielding myself from any potential legal risks.

As for the piracy claims by the industry, there has to be a better way. A good start would be to stop churning out the massive amounts of pure crap and instead work on quality that people would gladly plunk down their hard earned dollars for.

Steve the Cynic

This legislation is a case study in the plutocracy’s control over Congress.

Nissay Odowa

I’m worried about start ups more than well established sites. I believe this bill would crush those that are weak and can’t fight back in court. It stifles innovation and creativity.

Regnar James

I think it is big brother and cooperate lawyers trying to scheme a way to make more money, and control information.

∑

DTOM

Honestly Wondering

Question for constitutional scholars:

Why does the the 1st Ammendment not trump the copyright clause in Article I Section 8 of the Constitution?

GaryF

SOPA is a bad bill. It gives the Executive Branch, way, way too much power.

Why not ask Senators Klobuchar and Franken where they stand? As well as our Representatives.

Will big Hollywood donations trump the 1st Amendment?

Bear

Protecting intellectual property from unauthorized use or profit and free speach are not one and the same. No one has the right to use someone else’s property without authorization; that is not free speach.

While this is a poor piece of legislation, if it were enacted it would in no way limit free speach.

Make the case that this is a bad approach to solving the problem but do it based on factual logic. Otherwise you are engaging in miscommunication in an attempt to create hysteria.

We believe strongly enough about the protest that our site at AllYourTV.com will be dark all day Wednesday. Sure, we’ll lose a few hundred dollars in revenue that’s not a small factor for an independent site such as ours. But we also know that it’s small sites such as ours that would be the most impacted if this law goes into effect as written. Wikipedia has the volunteers and money to fight off a misguided takedown order. We wouldn’t survive it.

Forrest

SOPA/PIPA is designed to let the big media companies not only block the distribution of material to which they own the copyright, but also material for which they don’t own the copyright, but competes with their offerings.

I certainly hope this threat to the flourishing creativity the Internet has brought about will be defeated.

Michelle

To answer the question, I am vehemently opposed to SOPA. I am appalled that Senators Franken and Klobuchar support it. How hypocritical for Senator Franken, in particular. He’s completely against net neutrality, but supports SOPA? This doesn’t make sense to me.

Notably, it seems that everyone here is in agreement that it’s a bad law. I find few arguments, and no good ones at that, supporting the bill with facts that aren’t heavily inflated toward the interests of Hollywood. Seems obvious to me this bill needs to die.

DNA

Stop Online Piracy Act is an example of human fear manifested as greed, prejudice and ignorant stupidity. How can we share the effulgent wealth of creativity and reason with joy and gratitude?

Let’s get on with the business of ending the prohibition of nature (yes, especially Cannabis/Hemp and Psilocybe cubensis). Commence the contemplation of interdependent exploration of the unprecedented moment of our interrelating within the MultiVerse/Kosmos.

Radio, tv, internet and wireless etc are just metaphors for the impending change to global resonant empathy/telepathy. We prepare with calm anticipation and compassionate curiosity.

Be free 🙂

John P II

Remember this when (some of ) the anti-SOPA interests come after your cookie managers and ad-blocking filters.

JasonB

While well intentioned, it doesn’t sound like a practical solution. Putting the onus on a website to police the millions of individual sources sounds like an easy way to finger one entity for inadvertently facilitating the actions of multiple offenders.

There is probably a better way to handle this. The conflict sounds similar to the fight with Napster, and may have similar repercussions along with a backlash against the big media corporations.

David Poretti

SOPA is so vague, it puts virtually every inter-net resource at risk. 3 thoughts:

1) Holding Google liable for on-line piracy would be akin to holding Ford liable becasue the bank-robber drove a Mustang.

2) Surely there is soft-ware coding technology that can prevent copy-write protected files from being downloaded, posted or forwarded without the user compensating the rights holder.

3) The primary economic pirates are over-seas. A law passed in Washington D.C. has little impact in China.

Elizabeth

I completely support SOPA. If there are problems with it, they can addressed. I feel that powerful folks in the internet world are showing no leadershp at all. Instead–they are big whiners who don’t want to address the problems that …well…they created. It’s not the big media companies that I care about—it’s all the indie singers, songwriters, authors, sculptors, painters, screen-play writers, etc. Time for legislation to protect the little guy, because Google sure isn’t. They could have addressed how to stop piracy–they actually could do it. Instead, they whine and protest. They are bullies who could care less about protecting the artist –ever. They need to stop piracy now.

Freida

Elizabeth, it’s all the indie singers, songwriters, authors, sculptors, painters, screen-play writers and the general public that would be screwed by this bill made for big business/corps.

Lynn

There are more Indie authors, songwriters, and artists that own their own copyrights than at any other time in history. And yes, they are being screwed by the Goliath internet companies that refuse to throw out the pirates. I too support SOPA so that Indie Artists can finally have a voice. Shame on the big internet guys who bully all of us today. And shame on people who say this is a law for big business. Thank goodness there are folks who will actually stand up to the shameless search engines and tell their managers they need to create an engine that stops damaging our culture’s artists, instead of finding more ways to place ads in our faces.

Joe

while this may potentially affect indie artists through such mediums as soundcloud, I don’t see this as an issue of indie artists versus label artists. Why would the labels care about an indie artists’ band camp if that indie artist is putting up their own original music? Artists will find a way to promote their music and illegal piracy must be curbed – respect and support talent (or don’t buy the product).

As Bear stated, it’s really an issue of content provider versus content creator. Online piracy certainly needs to be addressed; whether this is the correct answer is highly debatable. If there’s anything I’ve learned from this, it’s that content providers can and should be more responsible for preventing piracy.

John

Lynn, no one is going to find those Indie artists because the Internet as we know it today, will be dead. Google is going to be heavily censored, if not completely blocked. Facebook will have the same issues as Google, if not more, due to the amount of User Submitted content. That content could contain some infringing material, which would allow for the website to be blocked.

And if those Indie artists have even the smallest hint of infringement in their songs, they could be sued and their website blocked.

Sarah

I totally agree with Lynn. Indie artists create their works and own their copyrights, and then get royally screwed by the big internet search engines who haven’t lifted a finger to protect them from piracy. Not a finger. I too support SOPA. Piracy and copyright infringement is totally out of hand. it’s ridiculous. The big search engines are too busy gathering our personal information and then crying “Wolf” when someone questions them about piracy. I support the artists, authors, writers and musicians who deserve to be protected.

Michelle

Against it. Agree with protecting copyrighted material – but not in the way they are proposing.

christine

the internet it self will die then sortly after the world though alot of people will deny or try to fight it we all use the internet way to much and if all the copy stuff is banned and deleted which i think is properly like 89% of the internet people will go up in anger and boredom and the world will end